


Change

by Multisakublossom



Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Angst, Child Abuse, Death, Depression, Gen, Konohas typical fucked up workings, Sakura is a UA student, Sakura is a very sad kid, She wants to change the world but thats really hard when everything is against you, Stain feels bad for this dumb weak kid, hopelessness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-27 07:42:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17158013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multisakublossom/pseuds/Multisakublossom
Summary: Stain knew the world was flawed. Society was run by the merits of fake, selfish heroes. It was his job to purify it and create a brighter future for everyone.He doesn’t realize just how broken things are, how deep the cracks run, until he meets Sakura Haruno.She’s the only Konoha raised student at UA, and she has a lot to say about her infamous hometown.





	1. It won’t ever change, no matter how hard you try

**Author's Note:**

> lmao I’m not sure at all where I’m going with this. It’s an idea I had a long time ago that I forgot to write down, and I just remembered it today and started typing? So yeah, it’s based solely around the concept of how canon Konoha and its mechanisms would fit in the bnha-verse and the world of quirks.
> 
> It isn’t pretty.
> 
> The drabbles for this will probably be short while I figure out where the story is going.

When Sakura stared down the intimidating figure of the Hero Killer, she felt an anger unlike any other in her entire life.

And she had spent many, many years being _constantly_ angry.

She growled at him weakly, hissing out her hate as her body quivered on the ground, paralyzed and helpless. Her cheek stung where he had cut her and lapped up the blood.

Sakura was angry, because she knew she was going to die.

The fact that it was at the hands of the **_hero_** killer was what really made it so insulting.

Maybe a more prideful person- _a more heroic person-_ would feel at least some sense of satisfaction at being ended in the heat of battle, but Sakura wasn’t like that. Not at all.

Sakura would rather die in the most mundane way possible. She’d rather die of disease, rather get run over a car, or even drown in a freak accident.

_She didn’t want to die a **hero’s** death, at the hands of a freak who specialized in killing people like her._

When he grinned down at her cruelly, blade raised, her heart fell in sickening resignation.

At least it would all end.

Sakura had been fighting her whole life, and for what?

She choked out a bitter laugh, when she suddenly realized that she was fighting against the same thing this bastard was.

Fighting to make change.

Fighting to make society- to make it-

Ah, whatever.

It wasn’t going to get better. At least not for people like her. This guy didn’t even know her situation, and he probably wouldn’t even care. An ignorant guy like him would never make true change.

Sakura weakly choked out that opinion, tears trailing down her face. “It’s not going to work,” She whispered out, voice tiny and helpless and so very sad. He blinked at her, confused, “What you’re doing.….none of this shit will _ever_ change.”

_She’s going to miss her mom and dad so much. At least they’ll know what happened to her, it’ll no doubt be all over the news by morning. An upcoming prized UA student, killed by a maniac. It could make national headlines. Those bastards back in Konoha won’t be able to keep it secret from the whole damn town, although she knows they’ll try._

_Huh. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad way to go out. Maybe she should thank him. At least she wouldn’t die forgotten, her fate left unknown to the people she loved. Maybe her friends back home would fight harder for the change they all craved for when they heard of her gruesome end._

“What did you say?” Stain hissed out, fuming at the utter indignation in this girl’s voice. He’d killed many, heard many final words, but never any that questioned his philosophy in such a _defeated_ way.

It almost sounded like disappointment. Like she had been rooting for him, and he’d let her down.

Stain was annoyed and curious. Why would she sound like that?

He bent down to her eye level, crouching to get a good look at the sorrow on her face. She didn’t look scared, or angry, or-

_-or anything._

She didn’t look _anything_ like how a hero _should_ look. She just looked like a sad, pathetic little girl. A weak, defenseless _child._

She lacked the defiance, the courage, the _fire_ that even some of the worst heroes he’d ended had possessed.

It made Stain angry. This stupid kid had no business calling herself a hero, if she was going to look like that.

It made him feel _bad._ Guilty. Stain had attacked teenagers before, but he never- well their ages had never really stuck out to him before. Not like this.

A hero was a hero, no matter their age. Therefore, they all had to live up to his ideals.

….Right?

He was struck with the realization, that they were all just _children,_ no matter how tough they acted. And it was all because this one girl was refusing to act the same.

Stain growled, fisting his hand into her pink hair, and lifting her head up to force her look him in the eyes. Dull green looked at him blandly, acceptingly. He held his blade up to her throat.

He was giving her one final chance.

A part of him was hoping she wouldn’t let him down, because he suddenly _really_ didn’t want to kill her.

Stain asked her a question, praying she would answer correctly.

“Why do you want to be a hero?”

She froze, and her eyes widened. Stain was delighted that a bit of color, a bit of that vibrant green and _fire_ was returning the second she heard his inquiry.

It suddenly erupted, in a shocking display of _hate_ unlike any he’d ever seen.

Sakura felt years of repressed rage burst out of her when he _dared_ to ask her that stupid _fucking_ question.

She glared at him, with a furious force that could only come from years of being hurt, forgotten, and _powerless._ Angry tears stung at her eyes as she spat out-

“I don’t want to be a hero.”

Stain faltered, confusion tearing through his form as this girl shook him to his core with only a few words. He recovered and glared at her, pressing the blade tighter against her throat. “Don’t you try to trick me-”

“What good has a hero ever done?!” Sakura screamed, tears streaming down her face in a hurt rage. “What good could a hero ever _really_ do!? Especially one like me!? Especially with things being the way they are!?”

Sakura screamed at him, at the top of her lungs. _“I already told you, things won’t EVER FUCKING CHANGE!”_

Stain stared at her. He didn’t know how to respond to the pure, passionate fury in this tiny little girl’s voice.

_The more she screamed out in vain, the tinier she looked, and the more something in him ached at the sight._

Sakura panted, chest heaving and dizziness flooding her skull. She whimpered, and the fight left her again as she cried out her regrets to her soon to be killer. “I don’t want to be a hero. I can’t save the people I care about most, and I can’t stop the bad things from happening, _so what’s even the point?”_

Stain was so confused. He didn’t know how to feel. Angry? Confused? _Sympathetic?_

The last option disgusted him, so he pushed down his remorse and twisted his fist in her hair, causing her to gasp in pain. “You’re _pathetic._ You can’t just decide to be something, and then give it up. You can’t just surrender because you’re feeling _weak._ A real hero-“

Sakura interrupted him, a hollow laugh leaving her as she mumbled, “I never decided on anything. I never wanted to be a hero. I didn’t even have the _choice.”_

The more and more she talked, the more confused Stain became. The more he lowered his sword and felt curiosity swell in him.

….What happened to this kid? She….she had been failed in some way, judging by her bitterness. But how? Who failed her? _What low-life, undeserving, fake hero failed to save her?_

Sakura continued to cry, broken and silent. “I don’t want to be here,” She whispered, “I just want to go home. I want to see my parents again. I want to see my friends again, even the ones I know are gone forever-”

Stain flinched. He instinctively knew she meant gone as in _dead._

“-I want to go back and see everyone I care about. And I’m not even allowed to do that. And n-now I’m gonna d-die and eventually t-they’re gonna die too if they a-aren’t already and n-nothing matters-”

Sakura broke down into incoherent sobs, her words becoming jumbled and nearly undiscernible. She breathed in, and gathered her senses enough to mumble one final, hopeless thing. Her whole body was slack and ready for death.

“I get what you’re trying to do. I _get_ it. But it isn’t going to work. The world can’t be fixed and there’s no point in trying. So good luck, and _please just fucking kill me already.”_

Stain dropped his sword, his composure completely lost.

No one had ever asked- _more like begged-_ him for death before.

Sakura felt so weak. So tired. She fought her hardest and screamed her throat raw and now she just wanted to sleep forever.

She closed her eyes, certain that she’d never wake up again. And that was ok with her.

But it wasn’t ok with the Hero Killer.

_“I’m not going to kill you.”_

_“Not until I make you see it can change.”_

Sakura fell into unconsciousness, not registering her almost killer slinging her over his shoulder.


	2. Spill your secrets, little girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short interlude to the reveal of the next chapter.
> 
> Warning, next chapters gonna be sad, and that’s only scraping the surface of what we’ll be getting into later.

Sakura woke up in a broken down and very well hidden apartment.

She observed her surroundings with a detached and tired sense of confusion.

_‘What….? What’s going on….? Where is this?’_

“So you’re awake.” Came a monotone voice at her side.

Sakura turned her head to the side limply, her blank eyes meeting the tame eyes of the Hero Killer. He looked oddly sane when he wasn’t standing over her with a sharpened blade.

“….Am I dead?” She asked.

Stain snorted, rolling his eyes. “Do you feel dead?”

Sakura stared at him with her lifeless green eyes and responded honestly. “Kind of. Or at least, I feel like I should be.”

Stain frowned at her, eyebrows furrowing. “You’re really depressing, you know that kid?”

Sakura shrugged, turning away from him to close her eyes serenely as she relaxed into the tattered futon he’d so kindly rested her against. “Yeah. I’ve been told that.” She muttered.

Stain leaned over her, glaring when she tried to ignore him in favor of going back to sleep. “I’d like to know why. And I didn’t drag you back here so you could ignore me.”

Sakura opened her eyes slightly, peering up at him from under her lashes and squinting in annoyance. “You’re asking me to spill on a lot of _very_ personal stuff, so no thanks.”

Stain reached down and tugged at her hair. Not harshly though. It was more playful, like Naruto or Kiba when she was being particularly depressing, and they were trying to cheer her up.

“Seeing as how I spared your life, it’s the least you can do.” Stain said to her, although not unkindly.

Sakura sagged, feeling the walls around her cracked little heart crumble down.

She whispered, so quiet that Stain could barely hear, resigned as she prepared to tell the first person ever of the woes of her hometown. She ignored the instinctive fear, the _sting_ across her skin, as she thought of _retribution_ for what secrets she was about to spill _._

 If the elders were to ever found out she had _talked,_ she would be _killed._

“You ever heard of a town called Konoha?”


	3. A town called Konoha (and the girl who knew better)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the world of heroes, Konoha is infamous for its strength.
> 
> Sakura holds no pride in having been raised there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The start of Sakura’s long and sad story.

_Konoha was a fairly large town. Although compared to the rest of the world, it was small and unknown._

_At least until quirks started appearing._

_Before quirks, the town was peaceful. Content to stay insignificant and isolated, if only because its residents were so very pleased with their simple, carefree lives._

_But the town elders thought differently. They looked at Konoha, and their greedy eyes saw a place stuck in the past, a place that would never grow, never become anything, never be successful, and never be a place of economical benefit._

_And then quirks came._

_And lucky, lucky Konoha, somehow became the epicenter for some of the most strongest quirk users in all of Japan._

_Old fashioned Konoha clans, that were once focused on family and unity, became focused on blood lines and arranged marriages and the strength that ran through their veins._

_The Uchiha, prized for their flame and illusionary quirks._

_The Yamanaka, with frightening mental quirks that would make any villain green with envy._

_The Hyuuga, with X-ray vision and the ability to destroy bodies from the inside out._

_The Uzumaki, with their chains and exceptional life forces._

_The Nara, with their frightening intelligence and manipulation of shadows._

_And so, so many more._

_And then there was the Haruno family._

_The weak, plain, quirkless Haruno family._

_When the village changed, when the entire world changed, quirks became a status symbol. A symbol of worth in Konoha’s new and terrifying hierarchy._

_And to the town elders, the Harunos were worth nothing._

_At least until Sakura was born._

_In Konoha’s long and infamous history of producing some of the finest quirks and heroes the world had ever seen, they had never had anyone with a healing quirk in their midst’s, not since the famous Tsunade Senju._

_So when kind little Sakura, with her eyes full of tears, made her hands glow so she could heal an older classmate that had been horrendously injured during one of the frightening spars that Konoha’s personal, mandatory, privately funded quirk academy had forced upon its youngest, she knew her fate had been sealed._

_She was taken. Snatched up by the greedy elders and inducted as one of Konoha’s newest victims in their dark and secretive world._

_Sakura was terrified. She was resistant. She fought every day since the officials dragged her from her home and away from her family. They claimed she’d been selected in a hero training lottery. A means of random selection among promising upstarts to see who was most fitting to represent the village in the world of heroes._

_They claimed it was an honor._

_Sakura knew better._

_She was only four when she’d been taken from her family and forced into rigorous, specialized training that made her ache every moment. She was only allowed brief supervised visits with her parents over the years that followed, and only as a reward for good behavior._

_She was only four when she looked upon the blank, traumatized faces of the other ROOT children, and learned what true fear was. She saw more and more of her friends from the academy join her in the program as time went on, their statuses as heirs unable to protect them forever._

_She was only four when she realized the triumphant faces of the Konoha raised heroes on the news were lifeless and vacant. Hollowed out after years of conditioning and abuse, and striving for a brighter future they didn’t truly believe in._

_At the very least, there was no brighter future for Konoha._

_Sakura once thought being a hero was the greatest thing in the world. But after having it thrust at her against her will, after having her life, future, friends, and family ripped away from her…._

_….she thought there was no fate more disgusting, then to become a hero._

_No hero came to save her._

_No one knew the truth._

_The world saw Konoha as a symbol of strength and greatness._

**_Sakura knew better._ **


	4. You were doing them a favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stain remembers some of the heroes he’s ended, and rethinks his opinions of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Konoha is pretty intense in the way it conditions its people.
> 
> Sakura is especially important, because of her healing. We’ll dive more into that later.
> 
> (Also: This is my first time writing for Stain, so I’m super worried I’m not characterizing him in a believable way :/ )

Stain stared at Sakura in disbelief, and she returned the stare vacantly.

He scanned her for any signs of deceit. He found none.

“You’re lying.” Stain hissed out at her in denial. He knew about Konoha, some of the world’s strongest pro-heroes came from there. All of them proud, quiet, and honorable.

Stain had hated every one of them. He had never seen a Konoha pro live up to his ideals. Their eyes were all so dull, their smiles insincere, and their motives shoddy and lifeless.

_“How do you feel about your success? How do you feel about your work as a hero?” Reporters would ask them._

_“It’s an honor to represent my hometown, and contribute to its rising fame in the world.” The Konoha heroes would always respond, their expressions blank._

Stain hated them.

He had killed many pros that had been Konoha raised, all of them exceptionally strong, and all of them disgustingly unlike what a hero should be. It seemed they all cared about the same thing, and that was the success and wealth of their infamous hometown. Heroes that fought for fame had no place in Stain’s ideal world.

Sakura just kept staring at him, unfazed by his claim that she was trying to trick him. “What did they say?” She asked quietly.

Stain blinked. “What?”

“When they died, what did they say?” Sakura clarified.

Stain scrunched his face at her, confused and annoyed. Sakura sighed at his uncomprehending expression, and turned her lifeless stare to his cracked ceiling.

“You’ve killed heroes from Konoha before, right? I know you have. I do read the news.” Sakura whispered, her tone blunt and unfeeling.

Stain froze, remembering the final words of every Konoha pro he’d ever slain.

Sakura looked at him again, dead green eyes staring into burning red. “I bet they all said the same thing, didn’t they? That it was an honor to serve Konoha.”

_Flashes of dull eyes and strong heroes flashed through Stain’s mind at a mile a minute, every one of them fighting desperately, only to suddenly sag in defeat and surrender the second they were cornered. They all accepted their deaths, unafraid. He remembered the disgust he felt as he judged them and their lack of willpower, their lack of conviction. Their lack of **fire.**_

_He remembers their last words, and how they all creepily mirrored each other, how they all sounded like lines in a script being recited unfeelingly._

_“I do not fear you. For I died a hero, worthy of Konoha. I served my home, and it was an honor to do so.”_

Stain felt sick.

Sakura’s eyes took on a sympathetic tint, and she looked at him without resentment. “You don’t have to feel bad about it. I can promise they all probably wanted to die anyways.”

Stain felt a shiver run down his spine when the little girl in front of him smiled at him reassuringly.

“You were doing them a favor.”


	5. My records say otherwise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stain’s eyes are opened. He wants to hate her for opening them, but only after he hates himself for not realizing how flawed the world truly was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stain wonders if his ideology is too selective, and decides to confirm some things before he makes some changes. Meanwhile something….very sad…is revealed about Sakura.

Stain had never felt more conflicted in his entire life. And for a man who knew deep down that he was morally in the wrong, he had done _many_ conflicting things.

If what this girl said about Konoha was true, then the world’s greatest source of heroes was a bigger problem then he’d ever could have imagined.

And it wasn’t the heroes themselves that had been the problem.

He’d killed so many of them. And for what?

It was pointless.

Stain did not care for pointless death.

He sat there in stunned silence, mulling over the girl’s words and starting to question if he was going about his desire for change all _wrong._ It went so much deeper than just the heroes. How many other places were like Konoha? How many cracks in society had he blindly ignored, completely oblivious to the darker inner-mechanisms that plagued the world?

_How many of those heroes had been suffering, long before he ended them?_

He wanted to kill this girl for looking at him with those hopeless eyes, and at the same time, he wanted to thank her for opening _his_ eyes.

But first, Stain had to confirm if she was telling the truth.

He stood up and walked towards the door. “I will be back. Stay here and rest.” He turned back to glare at her warningly. “Don’t try to leave.”

Sakura shrugged. “Wasn’t planning to,” she admitted as she snuggled under the covers, “Pro-tip if you’re planning on investigating, Konoha has eyes _everywhere.”_

Sakura buried herself deeper under the scratchy blanket she had been provided with, as if it would keep her safe. Maybe it was paranoia, but they even probably already knew she had talked.

Stain frowned, eyes narrowing, undaunted by her warning. “I can handle it.”

Sakura shrugged again, not in disbelief, but not in faith either. “Ok.”

As Stain grabbed his blade and made his way out of the room, he felt a sharp sting of hesitance. Would…would the brat be alright on her own?

It was a stupid worry, but maybe he was feeling bad for almost-

_Those eyes, those chilling, lifeless, sad eyes pleading for death-_

Stain shook the worry away.

As he stepped over the threshold, the girl spoke up.

Maybe she had a mind reading quirk, or maybe she was just observant, because she spoke in a very forgiving, very _knowing_ tone.

“You don’t have to feel bad about almost killing me either.”

Stain looked back at her, shocked.

“I mean, I know you feel bad just because I’m a kid, but that’s not your fault. I _look_ a lot younger then my classmates, but you couldn’t have known it’s because I actually am.”

Stain felt something twist unpleasantly in his guts when Sakura smiled almost sheepishly at him. What she admits to him next makes the twisting burn with a violent, _angry_ intensity.

“My official records may say otherwise, but I’m actually only twelve years old.”


	6. Can I get that in writing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stain seeks out the help of a young man named Jōhō.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding the reveal at the end of the last chapter…..The ninja villages in canon are known for having child soldiers, and that isn’t gonna change here. And with how powerful and influential Konoha is in the world of heroes, they more than have the resources and power to change a few official documents and force their kids into the world of Pros sooner rather than later. I mean, they’ve already done so much shitty stuff within their own town, so why would they feel like they should have to wait and adhere to the rules of the rest of the world? Making Sakura secretly twelve, in a highschool class of fifteen+ year olds. Etc. 
> 
> Tsunade is mentioned again in this chapter, and her hero name is revealed to be “Hokage.” This is because Konoha exists in the bnha-verse, which is a more modernized world, and therefore they don’t have Hokages in terms of village leaders, although they do still have a town council.
> 
> The reasoning behind Tsunade’s hero name will be revealed later.
> 
> Also, Jōhō is my oc, and he’s a sweet, precious young man. A true good boy.

Stain wasn’t sure where to start as he slunk away from his apartment, using the cover of night to shroud himself from any onlookers. He knew he had to do some reconnaissance, but Konoha was a rural town, located far out of the city and more in the country side. It wasn’t like he could take a train all the way out to the obscure mountainside it rested by, and be back by morning with all the information he needed.

Plus,- _and maybe he was a softie for thinking_ _this_ -he didn’t feel too comfortable leaving Sakura alone for that long.

Stain still wasn’t sure what exactly he was going to do with her. I mean, he couldn’t just….keep her locked up in his apartment. People were sure to panic and send search parties when they realized she was missing.

He couldn’t jeopardize his plans for a single person.

Stain cursed at himself as soon as that selfish thought crossed his mind. He would not think like that. He stood by his convictions, and he knew he intended to keep her safe from the second she shared her story with him. He wouldn’t go back on that.

Sakura may not have been a hero worthy of his ideals, but she was still just a child. An innocent bystander caught up in a world that didn’t care.

Stain supposed that the best thing he could do for now, was to get some help.

Now, Stain did not have followers. At least not _official_ followers that he employed to do his bidding. He was a man who preferred to work alone, a martyr that had no intentions of getting others directly caught up in his business.

But, he still knew he had amassed quite a large number of people that were willing to assist him. He’d inspired many with his ideals, many of whom had reached out to him directly and offered their services.

He didn’t particularly care for any of them or their offers, so he always turned them down.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t know where to find them.

 

* * *

  


It didn’t take him too long to find a man by the name of Jōhō. A rather young, twitchy, and excitable fellow who prided himself on knowing just about everything.

And if he didn’t know what you needed, he claimed himself more than capable of getting the information to you ASAP.

The man used to be an office worker or something like that, although Stain couldn’t exactly recall. He had a rather interesting quirk, called “Paperwork.” A combination of his mother’s quirk, “Truth,” and his father’s quirk “Scan.”

His quirk allowed him to scan any document, official or otherwise, and immediately tell whether or not the words printed held truth. With enough focus, he could even discern the _actual_ truth within the lies provided.

When Stain showed up at his home, a shoddy apartment worse then his own, the man looked surprised, but ecstatic.

Stain observed the towering boxes of papers around the man’s abode with skeptical disinterest.

Jōhō noticed his gaze and flushed in embarrassment. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair, explaining in a flustered tone that he ran a sort of charitable business in his home. (It wasn’t exactly profitable seeing as how his fees were almost non-existent, but he took a great deal of pride in it.)

Apparently, the insurance company he used to work at was rife with corruption, and after he’d seen his fair share of lies hidden within the flowery and apologetic letters that had been written to the unfortunate souls the company had scammed, he had decided to quit. Now he specialized in going through documents people in need brought to him, in hopes of providing them with the proper advice and information they needed to get out of difficult situations.

“Anything from shoddy work contracts, to unfair divorce papers,” Jōhō stated proudly as he went to fetch some tea for his guest, “I can find out just what intentions the writer has, and help the person being scammed get a fairer deal.”

Stain raised an eyebrow at the man as he took the cup with a nod. “Why not just become a lawyer then?” He questioned curiously.

Jōhō’s face darkened, his tired, bloodshot brown eyes narrowing in distaste as his grip tightened on his cup. “Quirk usage is thrown out in official courts nowadays. It’s considered hearsay.” He sighed, a sorrowful looking coming across his face. “Even if I say, read a letter written by someone accused of murder, that _claims_ they are innocent..…and I could tell without question that they were lying and were guilty of the crime….my statement would be overruled.”

Stain frowned, feeling anger well up in him.

Jōhō was only in his mid-twenties, but he looked much older as he sighed and fiddled with a paper on the coffee table in front of him. “It isn’t just that, there are so many lies and secrets hidden in today’s society, thanks to heroes and quirks. Back at my old job, for instance….I can’t tell you how many people under our coverage died in quirk based accidents, only for their family members to be denied the proper compensation. Compensation that they _should_ have received.”

He laughed bitterly. “You wouldn’t _believe_ the excuses my bosses would just… _come up with._ Anything from, ‘oh, your plan doesn’t cover accidents caused by villains,’ or ‘oh, your plan only covers accidents caused by _mutant_ based quirks.’ It was all….such fucking _bullshit._ And that’s not even _half_ of some of the fucked up shit I saw there- _”_

Jōhō cut off his own tirade and sighed to calm himself, before he offered up the hero killer a weak, sheepish grin. “That’s uh….why I do what I do. I mean, I can’t do much to _change_ things, but _your_ actions are bringing some of these issues to light. With all the stir you’re causing….the media is actually starting to dissect the way things are being run, and more and more people are being made aware of these issues….so I can’t help but admire you for that. If you need help with anything, just let me know.”

Stain stared at the man, observing him in silence, before he nodded in thanks. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

It seemed there was still plenty Stain needed to learn. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to accept some help from others now and again, especially if they were all as well intentioned as the young man in front of him.

“I realize it might be a task you’re unfamiliar with, but would you be able to look at a document on a UA student, if I bring it to you?”

Jōhō straightened instantly, a serious expression crossing his face the second he heard the word ‘student.’ He looked at the man in front of him without fear, all traces of admiration vanishing.

“It depends.” He hissed out, suddenly incensed at the thought of assisting a person that could be targeting a mere high schooler.

Stain smirked, feeling the inkling of respect he had for this young fellow increase. “Relax. I’m not looking to harm this person. I attack heroes. I don’t go out of my way to hurt children.”

Jōhō raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. “Not unless they attack you first though, right?” He snorted.

Stain almost flinched. Ouch.

Still, he had to admire the guy for sticking to his convictions. He’d make a good hero, to be honest.

Stain shrugged. “I….have no intentions of acting so impulsively. Not anymore.”

Jōhō continued to look at him, analyzing him with his bloodshot eyes. “….Can I get that in writing?” He asked, shoving a paper and pen in his direction.

Stain wanted to groan, but he entertained the man’s request. At least he could watch the man’s quirk in action.

A minute later, Jōhō had read the brief statement written by Stain and was nodding in acceptance. “Ok. No lies here. My quirk would’ve activated if there was. You really swear you don’t plan on hurting this kid?”

Stain nodded. “Her name is Sakura Haruno, and I have no ill intentions towards her.”

Jōhō furrowed his brow, nodding back thoughtfully. “Haruno, huh? Isn’t she that prized Konoha kid? I hear her name on the news a lot. Lots of people are expecting big things from her, saying she could be the next….god, what was that Tsunade woman’s hero name? _Hokage_ or something like that? Jeeze…that’s a lot of pressure for a teenager.”

Stain knew who Tsunade was. She’d been an old hero, one who made her debut around the same time as All Might.

He had….mixed opinions on her. She had been a brash, angry, and bitter woman, judging by the videos he’d seen. But she had been strong. She had fire. She had conviction and strength and kindness that had been on the same level as All Might’s.

She could’ve surpassed All Might himself.

Not only did she have a quirk that granted her terrifying inhuman super strength that rivaled the symbol of peace’s, but she also possessed incredible healing that gave her an added edge over the infamous user of “One For All.”

The “Byakugou,” is what her quirk had been called.

She could’ve been number one.

But when the whole world had been rooting between the two of them as they both strived for the number one spot, she had suddenly disappeared.

She retired, gave up her position, and vanished without a trace.

For whatever reason, she gave up.

Stain had disliked her, like he did every other Konoha pro, for that reason alone.

Maybe he judged her too quickly.

“That’s her.” Stain confirmed, taking a sip of his drink. “She’s under my protection at the moment, and I need to confirm some things if I am to assist her with….her situation.”

Jōhō’s eyes softened. “She’s in trouble?” He asked softly.

Stain took in a deep breath, shutting his eyes and trying to ignore the images of those _lifeless_ eyes that danced behind his closed lids.

_“I’m actually only twelve years old.” A sheepish, half-hearted, and **broken** grin. From a girl who likely hadn’t even hit puberty yet. A **child** that had been ready for death at his hands._

“Yes. I do believe she is.” Stain said honestly.

A determined glint appeared in Jōhō’s bloodshot eyes. “Then bring me whatever file you can get on her, and I’ll do what I can.”


End file.
